The 10 apps I can't live or work without - on Windows, Mac, and mobile

19 hours ago 23

Every five years or so, I make an inventory of the apps I use most frequently. It's always fascinating to see how the list has changed over time, and it usually says something about the computing landscape. When I did that exercise this year, I was astonished at the changes.

Half of the apps I used five years ago are no longer on my list at all in 2025. They've been replaced, in most cases, by apps that are tightly linked with web-based services and cloud storage and can run on any desktop, laptop, or mobile device.

Also: A decade of Windows 10: Chaos, Cortana, and conspiracy theories that never panned out

Seven of the 10 apps I use every day offer fully functional free versions, often with paid options to unlock additional features or to remove some usage limits. Of the eight apps I pay for, none still offer a traditional perpetual license, favoring a subscription model instead. I know that's a hot-button issue for some readers, who are adamant about their distaste for paying monthly or annual fees. I prefer the predictability of those arrangements instead of the big jolt to the budget that comes with major upgrades. And I'm also happy to support independent developers.

The biggest surprise for me is how much less I use the Microsoft 365 desktop apps (formerly known as Microsoft Office). If it weren't for Excel, I'm not sure that I would still be willing to pay for my Microsoft 365 subscription. I've stopped using OneNote completely, and I use Word a lot less than I used to. I finally got tired of Quicken, Spotify, and Adobe Acrobat, all of which had easy replacements.

Of course, this selection reflects my work habits and my personal preferences. Your needs are undoubtedly different, so your list won't be the same as mine. I encourage you to share your favorites in the comments section below.

1. Microsoft Edge

Purpose: Browsing the internet
Price: Free
Info: Microsoft Edge

A modern browser has one job: to render webpages that work as they were designed to work. Given the realities of the modern web, that means a browser that's based on the de facto standard, using code from the open-source Chromium project. For most people, the obvious choice is Google's Chrome browser, but you can also choose another Chromium-based browser: Microsoft Edge, or Brave, or Vivaldi, or one of these even more obscure options. I have used Microsoft's version, Edge, for five years, and see no reason to switch now.

Also: I made Microsoft Edge my default browser because of these three killer features

The current iteration of the Microsoft Edge browser is, as far as most websites are concerned, just another instance of Google Chrome, with support for all the extensions written for that juggernaut. But three features that are built into Edge are enough to make me comfortable using it as my default browser. The most important is Tracking Prevention (shown here), which stops a fair amount of online surveillance and serves as an effective ad blocker. I can't imagine seeing this implemented in Chrome.

The other two killer Edge features for me are vertical tabs, a feature that makes it possible to distinguish what's on each webpage even if you have dozens of tabs open, and the immersive reader, which strips away clutter from a page so you can concentrate on the content. (For more details, see "I made Microsoft Edge my default browser because of these three killer features." )

I still keep a copy of Chrome installed on my Windows desktop, but I rarely run into a page that requires me to switch. I also use Edge on my MacBook Pro and on iOS and Android, with history and favorites synced across all those platforms.

2. 1Password

Purpose: Password management
Price: Subscription-based. Individual, $3 a month; Family (5 users), $5 a month; Team and Business plans available
Info: 1Password

When I set up a new PC, Mac, or mobile device, the first thing I install, without exception, is the 1Password app and its companion browser extension. (For a full review, see: 1Password: My favorite password manager is an essential security tool.)

Also: I replaced my Microsoft account password with a passkey - and you should, too

It has every feature you expect from this class of software, including a robust password generator that can create and save truly random, unguessable credentials, support for two-factor authentication, and the ability to create and sync passkeys across multiple devices. I have a family plan ($5 a month, billed annually), which makes it easy for my wife and me to keep individual credentials as well as a shared vault for services we access with a single account.

1Password is also available as an app for iOS, Android, MacOS, and Windows and uses the same synced, encrypted database for all platforms.

I'm comfortable with allowing 1Password to store and sync my encrypted password files. Because it's a zero-knowledge architecture, no one at the company has access to the contents of those encrypted files; that data can only be opened using my unique local password, accompanied by the encryption key.)

3. Workona

Purpose: Tab management
Price: Subscription-based. Free, with limits; Pro plan $7 a month, Team and Enterprise plans available
Info: Workona

By any reasonable standard, I have too many browser tabs open right now. But I don't care, because I have a secret weapon that helps me keep those tabs under control -- a service called Workona. I've been a paid subscriber for more than five years, and it's become an indispensable part of my online toolkit (see "Too many browser tabs? This impressive extension is my favorite solution.")

Workona allows me to organize tabs, bookmarks, notes, and tasks into groups called spaces that sync across devices; I can share spaces with team members, and connect cloud-based productivity services (like Slack and GitHub) to extend the capabilities of a space. I use it on Microsoft Edge, but it's also available as an extension on Chrome and Firefox on all major desktop platforms.

Also: I use Edge as my default browser - but its new AI mode is unreliable and annoying

The free edition of Workona limits the number of spaces and resources you can create, but it might be good enough if your needs are modest. I pay $7 a month for a Pro plan that gives me unlimited spaces for a single user and some other useful features, such as Google Drive integration. Team and Enterprise editions are also available.

At any given time, I might have more than a half-dozen spaces open, each in its own browser session. On Edge, those spaces integrate with tab groups, so I can quickly move tabs between spaces. Best of all, if a browser crashes or I need to restart my computer, I can reopen all those tabs quickly without losing any work. I can't imagine working without it.

4. Obsidian

Purpose: Text editor
Price: Free, with subscription-based sync and publish options available
Info: Obsidian

For many years, Microsoft Word was my main text editor. It was absolutely essential in the days when at least half of what I wrote was destined to be published in book form, with extensive formatting and a focus on page layout. These days, though, almost everything I write is published online -- as a webpage or a newsletter. For those uses, Word is overkill, and its formatting is often as much of a hindrance as a help.

Also: Microsoft at 50: Its incredible rise, 15 lost years, and stunning comeback - in 4 charts

My longtime colleague Mary Jo Foley would no doubt suggest I use Notepad, but that's a bit too barebones for my taste, even with recent feature additions. Which is why I now do most of my writing in Obsidian. This easy-to-use app, developed by a small team that started in 2020, uses the lightweight Markdown language to create structured documents with rich formatting that can be saved as text files. It's also a great way to capture and store interview notes and snippets of research -- it's completely taken over that role from OneNote, another Microsoft Office app I used for decades that I no longer use regularly.

I've mapped Obsidian hotkeys to some familiar Word shortcuts, and I've also installed a plugin that adds outlining capabilities to my documents. It's all remarkably easy. (The Obsidian community has created thousands of plugins.)

Obsidian is not open source, but it has a robust plugin model that allows third-party developers to extend its features. The program itself is free, with no limits. I pay $8 a month (billed annually) for optional add-on services that allow me to sync up to 10 vaults and 10 GB of storage across devices, with a revision history of 12 months. There's also an option to use Obsidian as a back-end for a simple website.

5. deck.blue

Purpose: Bluesky feed management
Price: Free. Advanced features available with membership, $2 a month
Info: deck.blue

Before Twitter changed its name and became a vanity project for the political obsessions of the world's richest man, it was a crucial source of information and a way to build communities. It was also a firehose of information, and the only sensible way to keep track of that torrent of tweets and threads and lists was with the help of an app like TweetDeck, which became a subscribers-only feature called X Pro in 2023.

Also: How to migrate from X to Bluesky without losing your followers

I've since replaced Twitter with Bluesky, which follows many of the same user experience conventions as good ol' Twitter and can be just as overwhelming. To get the most value out of Bluesky, you need to follow hundreds or thousands of accounts, which can turn your home page into a river that flows so fast no human can keep up using the web-based app.

The solution is a third-party web-based app called deck.blue, which lets you slice and dice your feed into different views, each contained in its own column. Like TweetDeck, it allows you to show lists in columns and has a robust set of options for filtering unwanted content. You can run deck.blue in a browser or do as I do and install it as a progressive web app. It's free, but I pay $2 a month for a membership that unlocks support for multiple accounts; it also pays the developer, Gildásio Filho, for whom this is a full-time job.

6. NewsBlur

Purpose: RSS reader
Price: Free, open source. Premium subscriptions, starting at $36 a year, unlock some advanced features
Info: NewsBlur

They told you RSS was dead. I am here to tell you that's not exactly true. The RSS feed is very much alive, albeit not quite as vigorous as in its heyday, before the Google Reader app was abruptly discontinued. (If you've never heard old-timers talk of Google Reader, here's my obituary from 2013: Embrace, extend, extinguish: How Google crushed and abandoned the RSS industry)

RSS is short for Really Simple Syndication, a standard that allows publishers to create "feeds" that you can read in an app that understands RSS. Amazingly, many large websites still support RSS, which makes cross-platform apps like NewsBlur incredibly useful. It's available as a web app on the desktop and as a native app on iOS and Android, and its feature list is genuinely impressive.

I use NewsBlur to keep track of all sorts of information. The RSS feed for Microsoft's Windows Blog, for example, makes it easy to track new Windows Insider builds. To stay in touch with Apple news, I follow John Gruber's Daring Fireball. The New York Times and the Washington Post have RSS feeds, and some really enlightened publishers like Talking Points Memo even have members-only feeds, so paying subscribers (like me) can read posts in a native app instead of subscribing to an email newsletter. That, to me, is the biggest advantage of NewsBlur -- helping to keep clutter out of my Inbox.

7. Microsoft Excel

Purpose: Charts, spreadsheets, and lists
Price: Included with Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Business subscriptions: $100 a year and up
Info: Microsoft 365

For more than 25 years, the four desktop apps that make up the core of what used to be Microsoft Office were an absolutely essential part of my working day. (I even wrote a half-dozen books about them!) That has all changed in the past few years.

Outlook (Classic) is still the first app I open in the morning, but Microsoft says I am going to have to switch to Outlook (New) sooner or later, and without giving away my feelings about the replacement, I can tell you I am looking seriously at alternatives. I open Word once or twice a week, mostly for reports, letters, and invoices, and use Obsidian for everything else text-related. I typically stumble through PowerPoint once or twice a year, at most.

Also: How to create a drop-down list in Excel and save yourself hours of time

But I use Excel every day. I use it to analyze data and create charts, like the ones in this article about why those "Windows 11 market share" numbers aren't reliable. I use it for lists, simple and complex, and to compare products before making major purchases. I finally got tired of using Quicken and figured out how to keep track of my personal and business finances in a collection of spreadsheets that would make my late father, a CPA, proud.

The online version of Excel is free, but I pay $12.50 a month for a Microsoft 365 Business Standard subscription that includes Excel and all the other desktop Office apps, plus an Exchange Online license, and 1 TB of OneDrive for Business storage.

8. VLC Media Player

Purpose: Playing video files
Price: Free, without limits
Info: VLC Media Player

VLC Media Player is a free, open source tool that can play nearly any audio or video file, regardless of its format. It's been around forever, maintained by the nonprofit VideoLAN organization, based in France. I wrote about it nearly a decade ago, when it was the best free alternative DVD player on the market, and today it handles both physical and streaming formats with aplomb. It doesn't require downloading dodgy codec packs to work, and it runs on every conceivable platform.

I haven't touched a DVD or a Blu-ray disk in ages, but I still have a collection of saved video files, that I occasionally want to watch, and this is the ideal tool for the job.

On Windows PCs, make sure to download and install the full Windows package. That version is also available in the Microsoft Store; just steer clear of the outdated, limited-feature VLC UWP app. The easiest way to install it is with the built-in winget package manager. If you're comfortable at a command line, just type this: winget install videolan.vlc.

9. MediaMonkey 2024

Purpose: Music organizing and playing
Price: Free; $40 upgrade to Gold edition unlocks premium features
Info: MediaMonkey

Despite the ease of streaming tunes from services like Apple Music and YouTube Music, I still have a substantial personal music collection in digital format. Some of the tracks in that collection are copies ripped from old CDs that aren't available on any commercial service. Others are live recordings, obtained directly from the artist or from legal online services and also unavailable for streaming. With a little extra effort, I can upload those files to the cloud, but I still have to manage them locally.

For those tunes, MediaMonkey 2024 (available on Windows and Android, but not MacOS or iOS) is an indispensable tool. Its built-in player handles just about any audio or video file, including lossless music tracks in FLAC and ALAC formats, in a fashion that's more organized than the one-track-at-a-time VLC. It can rip CDs, stream music to external devices, automatically tag MP3 files and add album art, and even sync tracks with my iPhone and Android devices. The free Standard version is perfectly capable, but I paid the $40 upgrade price to enjoy a variety of very useful advanced features in the Gold edition.

10. Snagit 2024

Purpose: Screenshots and screen recordings
Price: Subscription-based, $39 per year
Info: Snagit

Honestly, I am not sure when I began using TechSmith's Snagit to capture, crop, and annotate screens for my books and online posts. It was definitely at the insistence of my book publisher in the previous century (the company and its flagship product have been around since 1990), and it is one of the very few survivors from those years.

The good folks at TechSmith have done a great job of keeping that software relevant more than three decades later. Every new version gets a few new features, like the ability to capture a quick screen video for posting online. I'm happy that I can save screenshots in the cloud service of my choice, so I can find that perfect screenshot with a quick search.

Snagit switched to a subscription model a few years ago. The default price of $39 a year, which allows a subscriber to run the software on two devices, is reasonable. Because I bought my licenses years ago, I'm locked into a legacy plan that's about a third of that price. I won't switch.

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